22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Maria Theresia

The 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Maria Theresia was a German Waffen-SS cavalry division that was active from 1943 to 1945 during World War II. The division was raised from Hungarian volksdeutsche conscripts, and it was named for the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa. The division was deployed to Romania in 1944 and fought against the Soviets during Operation Bagration; the unit was annihilated at the Battle of Debrecen, and all available elements of the unit were sent to take part in Operation Panzerfaust, the occupation of Hungary, in October 1944. The rest of the division joined the IX SS Mountain Corps and fought at the Siege of Budapest, with only 170 Maria Theresia soldiers escaping the encirclement. The remaining units joined the 37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Luetzow.